Freezer divider



Nov. 22, 1955 R. E. MOORE FREEZER DIVIDER Filed Oct. 10, 1952 omgFREEZER mvrnnn Robert E.Moore, Amana, Iowa, assignor to AmanaRefrigeration, Inc., Amana, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa ApplicationOctober 10, 1952, Serial No. 314,022

3 Claims. c1. 220-22 This invention relates to a divider constructionfor a top-opening freezer cabinet.

Freezers of the] top-opening type have long been constructedwith anouter casing or shell and an inner casing, with space provided betweenthe outer and inner casings to contain thermalinsulation material.

In a freezer adapted to be opened at the top, it is impractical toprovide shelves for the storage of food because of the inaccessibilityof the shelves. It has, therefore, been common practice to providevertical space dividers for segmenting the interior space of the freezerchest into compartments or sections, so that the articles of food may beplaced within the sections or compartments and held against lateraldisplacement.

Numerous difficulties have been encountered in providing a practical,commercially feasible divider which can be quickly and readily placed inposition and removed, and yet will have sufficient support to hold thefood against sidewise displacement. A particular problern has beencaused by the bulging of the side walls of the chest liner when thefreezer is loaded excessively withfood. This bulging has caused thedivider supports, and also the supports for baskets used in conjunctionwith the dividers, to be spread so far apart that the dividers andbaskets would fall between the supports, thus rendering the entiredivider and basket construc- 'tion inoperative and useless to thehousewife or other freezer user.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel andimproved divider construction for a freezer in which the divider isfirmly and positively held in position by supports positioned on theliner walls, and yet the divider can be quickly and easily removed fromthe freezer. The positive engagement between the divider and the wallsupports, as here disclosed, prevents the divider from falling throughthe supports, under pressure from the stacked articles of food.

A further object of this invention is to provide a divider support whichis secured tothe interior of opposite vertical side walls of the chestliner and affords a strong stiffening element which prevents bulging ofthe side walls, with consequentdisplacement of the divider supports.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of aconstruction, including a divider and means for mounting the divider, inwhich it is unnecessary to provide anchoring means at the bottom of thedivider for retaining the divider in an upright position in the chest.More specifically, the invention contemplates a construction havingchannel members horizontally secured on the side walls of the interiorof the freezer and a divider mounted and supported by said channelmembers. Each flange of the channel member has spaced longitudinallythereon vertically aligned openings for receiving hooked members on thedivider, whereby the divider is retained against sidewise displacementby the articles stacked in the freezer. Such a structure provides for asimple and economical divider construction whereby the housewife "ice orfreezer user can quickly and readily place the divider in positiveengagement with the supporting channel members on the side walls, andyet quickly and readily remove the divider. The vertically alignedapertures are placed at suitable distances longitudinally along theflanges of the channel members, so that the divider may be convenientlyplaced in different positions to provide the desired compartmentation orsegmentation.

The herein disclosed invention is capable of many embodiments andmodifications. A preferred embodiment is shown in the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective cut-away view of a freezer cabinet to whichthe divider construction of my invention is applied.

Figure 2 is a view taken along the line :22 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a view partially in cross-section showing the channel memberfixed to the side wall and a portion of the divider with the downwardlyextending hook member thereof positively engaging the channel member.

Figure 4 is a detailed view of the downwardly extending hook member ofthe divider.

Referring now to the details of the drawing, Figure 1 illustrates at 10the freezer cabinet to which my invention is applied. The cabinetstructure comprises an outer casing 11 and an inner liner 12, withthermal insulating material 13 filling the space between. The inner andouter casings with said thermal insulation constitute the side walls andbottom of the freezer chest. A cover 14 provides a closure for theinterior space of the cabinet and is hinged to the cabinet chest, sothat it may be readily opened and closed. Refrigeration apparatus (notshown) is positioned in the base of the chest to maintain the desiredtemperatures within the interior space.

On each oftwo opposite interior walls of the inner lining of the cabinetare horizontally mounted support members 15. Each of these comprises achannel element extending along the entire wall. The open side of thechannel is positioned against the liner wall, with the flanges inhorizontal position, extending from the. web t the wall of the innerliner.

The channel members are secured to the side wall of the inner liner bymeans of bolts 16 which are inserted through a hole in the web andextend through an opening in the side wall of the inner liner. Thesebolts are screwed into nuts 17, spot-Welded to the outside of the innerlining wall.

At suitable intervals along the length of channel members 15 are pairsof vertically aligned openingslS. As shown in the drawing, each of theseopenings takes the form of angular slots extending partly into the weband a flange of the channel, but any suitable opening may be used.

The dividers may be of any suitable height. As'shown in Fig. 1, thedivider indicated by the numeral 19 extends approximately half theheight of the interior space in the cabinet. The divider indicated by 20extends adjacent the top of the interior space. The divider 19 includesa top horizontal rod member 21, extending substantially across theinterior of the cabinet. Vertical rods 22 are secured to the horizontalrod 21, adjacent its ends and are integral with the bottom horizontalrod, forming the base of the divider. Vertical rods 23 ex tend betweenthe horizontal bottom rod and the horizontal top rod 21 at spacedintervals, thus forming a grill work suitable for holding stackedarticles of food. The top horizontal bar 21 has at each end thereof adownwardly extending hook portion 24, as best shown in Fig. 4, this hookbeing adapted to be inserted in vertically aligned apertures in thechannel member 15 to provide positive engagement between the divider andthe supporting. channel.

The divider 20 is composed of horizontal and vertical rods forming agrill work, as in the case of the divider 19. A horizontal rod 25 is sopositioned that when the divider is placed in the freezer, the rod 25 isapproximately the same height as the top flange of the channel supportmembers The ends of the rod have ddwnwardly'extending hook portions 26(as best shown inFigureS), which are adapted to fit intoverticallyaligned openings 18 in the channel members to provide positiveengagement and support for the divider.

Th6. divider is inserted into the freezer chest by lowering it intoposition between the channel members and inserting the hooked portionsof the horizontal bar into appropriate vertically aligned openings inthe channel inmben' The hooksextend through the openings in both the topflange and the bottom flange of the channel, and thereby positively andfirmly hold the divider in position against sidewise displacement.

It will be observed that the divider can be easily and quickly removed'from the freezer cabinet by merely raising it in a vertical plane untilthe hooked portions are free and clear of the channel members. Thus thedivider is held by a positive engagement, but at the same time it can bequickly and easily removed.

The channel support members provide a strong, sturdy, stiffening elementfor the thin side walls of the inner liner, and thereby prevent bulgingof the side walls and consequent displacement of the divider supports.My invention thus provides a simple, economical, strong divider supportconstruction which enables a housewife to easily and quickly remove thedivider and replace it in the desired position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a divider and reinforcing construction for a top-opening loadcarrying cabinet having substantially vertical side walls and aninterior space, the combination comprising channel members positionedhorizontally on the. interior of two opposite side walls, said channelmembers, being positioned with their open sides against said side wallsand their flanges extending horizontally, said channel memberscomprising a top and bottom flange and an integral web, a first integralslot forming a horizontal saddle in said top flange and a verticalsaddle on the top side of said web, a second integral slot of likestructure vertically aligned with said first integral slot, securingmeans extending through said web into fixed engagement with a receivingmeans exterior said vertical side walls, and a divider element having ahorizontal rod member and vertical rod members rigidly secured together,the ends of said horizontal member having downwardly extending integralhook portions adapted to be received in oppositely disposed slots insaid channel members, wheresaid divider element is positively and firmlyengaged by said channel members and held against lateral displacement.

2. 111 a divider and reinforcing construction for a topopening freezercabinet having substantially vertical side walls and an interior space,the combination comprising channel members positioned horizontally onthe interior of two opposite side walls, said channel members beingpositioned with their open sides against said side walls, said channelmembers comprising a top and bottom flange and an integral web, a firstintegral slot forming a horizontal saddle in said top flange and avertical saddle on the top side of said web, a second integral slotvertically aligned with said first integral slot, said second integralslot forming an aperture in said bottom flange and on the bottom side ofsaid web, and a divider element including a horizontal rod member havingon each end thereof a downwardly extending integral hook portion adaptedto be received in said slots in said channel members, said horizontalrod having a plurality of vertical members rigidly secured thereto,whereby said divider element is removably held by said channel membersagainst lateral or tilting displacement and said channel members andsaid side walls are maintained against bulging.

3. A divider and reinforcing construction for top opening freezercabinets having substantially vertical side walls forming an interiorload supporting storage space comprising, channel members positionedhorizontally on the interior of at least two opposite side walls, saidchannel members being positioned with their open sides against said sidewalls and comprising a top and bottom flange and an integral web, afirst integral slot forming an aperture in said top flange and web, asecond integral slot verticallyaligned with said first integral slot,said second integral slot forming an aperture in said bottom flange andsaid web, securing means extending through said web into fixed.engagement with a receiving means on said vertical side Walls, and adivider element including a horizontal rod member having a downwardlyextending. hook portion having a pointed end thereon at each end thereofand adapted to be received in said slots in said channel members, andvertically extending compart'ment wall means rigidly secured to saidhorizontal rod member to provide separate storage compartments, saidhorizontal rod member and hooks providing means for maintaining saidside walls in a predetermined fixed position relative to each other inthe presence of heavy loads in said compartment tending to urge saidwalls apart and simultaneously preventing tilting of said verticallyextending walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,126,923 Ulrich Feb. 2, 1915 1,712,177 Duthie-Strachan May 7, 19292,274,203 Kern Feb. 24, 1942 2,610,101 Bufiington et al Sept. 9, 19.52

FOREIGN PATENTS 144,018 Switzerland Feb .16, 19,31

